Spanish American War

• Cuba is only 90 miles from Florida

• By the end of 1897, more than 300,000 Cubans had relocated into Spanish guarded concentration camps. These camps became cesspools of hunger and disease where more than one hundred thousand died.

USS MAINE

• The U.S. sends the USS Maine to Havana Harbor

Reasons for Spanish American War

• 1. Protection of American business interests in Cuba

• 2. American support of Cuban rebels to gain independence from Spain

• 3. Sinking of the USS Maine – Newspapers reported

it was Spain, but this wasn’t true

– The Maine exploded because the ammunitions were located to close to the ships boiler room.

• 4. Yellow Journalism – Exaggerated news stories.

• The newspapers falsely reported the sinking as an attack

Results of the Spanish American War• 1. The U.S. defeats

Spain• 2. Cuba gains its

independence• 3. The U.S. gained

possession of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines

• 4. The U.S. emerged as a WORLD POWER

The Monroe Doctrine

• The Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy that was introduced on December 2, 1823, which said that further efforts by European governments to colonize land or interfere with states in the Americas would be viewed by the United States of America as acts of aggression requiring US intervention.

The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

• 1. Asserted the U.S.’s right to interfere in economic matters of nations in the Americas

• 2. Claimed the United States’ right to exercise international police power

• 3. Advocated Big Stick Diplomacy– “Walk softly, but carry

a big stick”– Used this concept to

get the Panama Canal built